Top 10 Study Skills

Mr Field

Introduction Does studying at home make you feel like

this?

This PowerPoint summarises the 10 most effective things that science says you can do to study better.

Number 10: Self-Monitoring What It Means:

Keeping track of what you have learnt and how well you have learnt it.

Putting it Into Practice: Get a copy of your syllabus document Tick things off on the syllabus once you

have learnt them You could colour code green/orange/red

to show how well you think you understand

When studying, make a list of each thing you have studied; seeing the list grow will help you see what you have achieved and make you feel good

Make a graph showing the grades you get for each assessment, and add to it whenever you get a new one

Number 9: Reviewing Records What It Means:

Reviewing the notes from a class in order to prepare for the next one.

Putting it Into Practice: Spend 20 minutes every evening reading the

notes you took in class that day. Spend 60 seconds before a lesson starts re-

reading the notes from the lesson before Use the ‘two-thirds-one-third’ note making

technique (see Number 6)

Number 8: Goal-Setting/Planning What It Means:

Setting a goal for what you want to achieve and writing a plan for how you will get there.

Putting it Into Practice: Set yourself a target grade that you

want to achieve Be realistic: if you are on a D, an A is

not a good target, a C would be a better target. Once you have the C, then think about a B and so on.

Think about time: if you are on a D at the beginning of the year, but want to be on an A by the end, perhaps set a goal of a C by Christmas, a B by Easter and so on.

Write a plan for how you will achieve this goal Be specific: ‘study more’ or ‘work

harder’ are not good because they are too vague, ‘re-read my notes every evening and turn them into a mind-map’ is good.

Number 7: Rehearsing and Memorising What It Means:

Doing what it takes to memorise key facts and information.

Putting it Into Practice: Just reading and re-reading

something will not help here. Use active techniques such as;

Making flash cards Making and reviewing mind-maps Re-writing your notes using fewer

words Writing things down from memory,

then checking against your notes

Number 6: Keeping Records What It Means:

Recording of information related to study tasks….basically taking notes!

Putting it Into Practice: Do not just copy what the teacher writes Take notes Use the two-thirds-one-third technique

Draw a line down your page a third of the way across it

Write your notes in class on the right-hand side

In the evening, review your notes and write the key points on the left-hand side

Write notes here

Review notes here

Number 5: Help-seeking What It Means:

As simple as it sounds, ask for help when you need it, and don’t be scared to seek support.

Putting it Into Practice: Study with a study partner In class use the three-then-me

approach Ask three friends If your friends can’t help, ask a teacher

When studying at home, make a list of things you don’t understand so you can ask the teacher next lesson.

Number 4: Self-evaluation What It Means:

Checking that what you have done is the best it can be before you hand it in.

Putting it Into Practice: Make sure you properly proof-read

your work before you hand it in When working on an assignment,

make sure you have a copy of the assessment criteria or mark scheme so that you can check your work against it Tick off each thing on the assessment

criteria once you think you have achieved it

Number 3: Self-instruction What It Means:

Talk yourself through problems that you are trying to solve…yes actually say the words out loud! It may seem silly, but it works by making you much more aware of your thought processes.

Putting it Into Practice: Write out the series of steps involved in a

task (for example writing an essay, completing a lab-report, solving a maths problem)

When you are working, talk yourself through what you are doing: ‘OK, so first a need to plan my experiment.

What is a good plan like?’ If you don’t have a list, put yourself in your

teacher’s shoes and ask: WWTD: What Would Teacher Do?

Number 2: Self-consequences What It Means:

Giving yourself rewards for completing certain tasks

Putting it Into Practice: Decide a reward for yourself:

Small: ½ hour on Facebook, 1 hour on the PlayStation etc

Large: shopping trip at the weekend, night out with friends

Decide what you will need to do achieve in order to earn your reward This should be specific: a particular practice exam paper, or assignment, or page

of notes…something that you can physically see when it has been achieved. This requires a lot of mental strength, and you may want to get your

parents’ help in making sure you stick to it....just don’t blame them when if don’t get your reward!

Number 1: Organising and Transforming What It Means:

Turning subject material from one form into another, and looking for the connections that help it to make sense.

Putting it Into Practice: Summarising a chapter from a book as

a mind-map Turning a series of steps for solving a

problem into a flow-chart Summarising the notes for an entire

topic in a single page Drawing a diagram to represent an idea Writing a plan before completing an

assignment

Credits

This list comes from Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating To Achievement by John Hattie, published by Routledge in 2009